Gummed paper measuring, tearing and moistening tool



United States Patent (Mike 3,129,864 GUMIVIED PAPER MEASURING, TEARING AND MOISTENING TOOL Lois D. Elkins, 1603 Caroline St., Fredericksburg, Va. Filed Aug. 7, 1963, Ser. No. 300,610 3 Claims. (Cl. 225-91) This invention relates generally to tools for facilitating the application of various types of gummed papers to surfaces and more particularly to a combination tool which will aid in measuring off a predetermined area of a gummed paper and facilitate the tearing of the paper along the borders of the area, and evenly moisten the gummed surface of the severed paper.

While the tool comprising the invention has great utility in connection with postage stamps, labels, tapes, seals, and gummed papers of every type, it is herewith described in connection with its use with the so-called trading stamps or coupons which are given as a bonus or premium by merchants in a quantity or amount which is usually a small fraction of and proportional to the purchase made.

As is Well known, various trading stamp companies furnish merchants with the stamps for a fee and maintain redemption stores where customers may trade a given number of paper booklets each containing a specified number or amount of the stamps, for various articles of merchandise. The afiixing and precise filling of a predetermined number of the gummed stamps to a specified area and location on each of the booklet pages is a tedious, messy, unsanitary chore which involves counting the stamps, tearing them apart in such multiples of width and height as to fill the given area, liclking or otherwise moistening them and finally positioning them on a booklet page. While the chore also involves the handling of stamps of different sizes and of corresponding variance in value, in each size, the standard denomination is the single unit which often is provided in 100 unit perforated sheets and the booklets are usually designed to receive 30 stamps to each page in blocks of 5 units in width and 6 units in height.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a combination tool which will obviate or minimize the chore characteristics of placing trading stamps in the required position in booklets so as to render them available for redemption.

An important object of the present invention is to provide an improved tool which can be placed on a gummed sheet of paper such as trading stamps so that a predetermined area of the sheet or number of stamps may be defined by the position of the tool and readily torn from the sheet along the area-defining edges of the tool.

Another important object of the invention is to provide an improved tool for use with a sheet of gummed paper which will enable a predetermined area to be torn from the sheet, and to be passed between co-operating surfaces comprising portions of the tool in order to moisten the gummed surface of the paper.

A further important object of the present invention is to provide a combination tool of the type described which will be simple, lightweight, and practical in construction, rugged and of long life in use, and susceptible of ready and economic manufacture.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the course of the following description.

In the drawings I have shown one embodiment of the invention. In this showing:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of the combination tool in operative position on a sheet of stamps, etc. and de- Patented Apr. 21, 1964 fining a predetermined area or block of stamps to be torn from the sheet along the inner area-defining edges of the tool;

FIGURE 2 is an end elevational view thereof looking from the bottom in FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view thereof looking from the right in FIGURE 1.

Referring to the drawings, numeral 10 designates as a whole the tool of the present invention which comprises a flat L-shaped base member having integral legs 12 and 14 disposed at right angles to each other, a pair of spaced yokes :16, 18, a shaft 20' rotatably mounted in the yokes, and a sponge roller 22 mounted on the shaft and supporting it in place in the yokes 16, 18. The legs 12 and 14- bear scale markings 26 and 28 along their inner or area-defining and paper tearing edges 30 and 32 respectively, the markings individually corresponding respectively with the width and height of a single one S of the most popular or commonly used of the trading stamps.

The tool base legs and yokes are preferably integrally molded of a thermoplastic or a thermosetting plastic because of their advantages of strength, light weight, freedom from rust, and economy. As an example, high impact polystyrene may be used although insofar as the principles of the invention are concerned, the tool may also be formed of wood, metal, glass, fiber, etc. It is to be noted that the leg 12 includes elongated slots 19 under the yokes 16, '18 regardless of the material of the tool which, in the case of metal, are formed by the stamping up of this portion of the leg into the yokes. This enables the tool to be fixed to a support as by fasteners such as the screws 21 indicated in dotted lines in FIGURE 2, as is sometimes desirable where no areadefining or measuring of paper or stamps is involved.

The sponge roller '22 may be made of various materials, but preferably is one of the foam plastics such as multicellular polyurethane which offers long wear, good water retention, and long-lived flexibility. The residual gum resulting from stamp moistening operations may be readily removed from the roller to eliminate sourness by simply rinsing and squeezing it dry.

The roller is provided with an axial bore for the shaft 20 to which it may be bonded by methyl ethyl ketone. Preferably, however, no bonding agent is used as the shaft is crucifonn in cross-section (FIGURE 3) and upon rotation of the shaft 20 by its extended end portion adjacent the yoke 18, it engages the sides of the bore to effect rotation of the roller with a sort of internal, torque squeegee action which slightly contracts the roller to effect a radially outward oozing of the moisture within the sponge, thus ensuring proper moistening of the gummed paper or stamps passing between the rollers 22 and the flat base leg 12.

It is to be noted that the plastic foam sponge roller 22 is self supported and rotates on the upper surface of the leg 12 and that the yokes, acting on the ends of the shaft 20, merely constrain the roller in its position of rotation which is slightly more than co-extensive with the scale markings 26 on the base leg 12.

In use, the combination tool 10 as shown in FIG- URE 1, will define the area of or measure ofi, permit the tearing oif without pre-creasing from the paper sheet P, and moisten, from one to thirty stamps S at one time. the tool being operatively positioned to define the area of the latter number at the upper right hand corner of the sheet which may be plain gummed paper instead of a sheet perforated throughout as at 24 to define the individual stamps S. As positioned, the defined sheet area is torn along the tearing edges 32 and 30 of the legs 14 and 12 of the tool.

The tool is readily shifted along the sheet to define any desired multiple of vertical or horizontal rows of stamps. For example, if a booklet page needed an area or block of stamps two stamps wide and three stamps high, the tearing edges 32 and 30 would be aligned vertically and horizontally with the perforation lines 35, 36 respectively. If an area three stamps wide and two stamps high were needed, the tearing edges would be aligned respectively with the perforation lines 37, 3-8, etc.

Prior to the selection and tearing off of the needed blocks or areas from the upper right hand corner of a sheet of gummed paper, the foam plastic sponge roller is removed for moistening by holding it under a running faucet or by immersion in a vessel. Removal is readily effected by pressing the shaft 2(3 ends downwardly against the light resilience of the sponge so as to clear the yokes 16, 18 and it is replaced in operative position in the same manner.

The torn paper sheet or block of stamps is then fed gummed-surface-up between the flat upper surface of the leg 12 and the co-operating roller which is then rotated by its extended right hand end (FIGURES 1 and 2) to feed the sheet through. The gummed surface of the sheet is thus thoroughly moistened without flooding and without mess as has heretofore been involved.

It will now be readily apparent that the combination tool provides interrelated means for defining a predetermined area of paper to be torn from a sheet, for facilitating the tearing off of the selected area, and then moistening thoroughly the entire gummed surface of the severed area in a neat, expeditious, sanitary and facile manner.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departure from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjo-ined claims.

I claim:

1. A combination tool for use with a gummed paper sheet perforated to define individual stamps comprising, in combination, a fiat body including a pair of elongated legs disposed at right angles to each other to define a single corner and the outer edges of a predetermined number of the stamps, the inner edges of said legs comprising tearing edges for the removal of said predetermined number of stamps from the perforated sheet, and a sponge roller mounted on one of said legs and coextensive therewith for simultaneously moistening the gummed surface of the defined predetermined number of stamps when torn from the perforated sheet along said tea-ring edges.

2. The combination recited in claim 1 wherein said sponge roller includes an axial shaft having projecting ends, and a pair of spaced yokes are mounted on said one leg and engage said ends and constrain said roller against other than rotary motion on the upper surface of said one leg.

3. A tool for use with gummed paper comprising, in combination, a flat elongated member having an edge along which paper may be torn, a sponge roller coextensive with said edge for moistening paper passed between it and the member rotatably mounted on the upper surface of said member, said roller having an axial shaft with projecting ends, a pair of spaced yokes mounted on said member and engaging said ends to constrain said roller against other than rotary motion on said surface of said member, said rnember including means to enable its attachment to a surface.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 386,718 Reardon July 24, 1888 1,708,725 Huempfner Apr. 9, 1929 2,337,405 Noel Dec. 21, 1943 2,355,552 Otte Aug. 8, 1944 

1. A COMBINATION TOOL FOR USE WITH A GUMMED PAPER SHEET PERFORATED TO DEFINE INDIVIDUAL STAMPS COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A FLAT BODY INCLUDING A PAIR OF ELONGATED LEGS DISPOSED AT RIGHT ANGLES TO EACH OTHER TO DEFINE A SINGLE CORNER AND THE OUTER EDGES OF A PREDETERMINED NUMBER OF THE STAMPS, THE INNER EDGES OF SAID LEGS COMPRISING TEARING EDGES FOR THE REMOVAL OF SAID PREDETERMINED NUMBER OF STAMPS FROM THE PERFORATED SHEET, AND A SPONGE ROLLER MOUNTED ON ONE OF SAID LEGS AND COEXTENSIVE THEREWITH FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY MOISTENING THE GUMMED SURFACE OF THE DEFINED PREDETERMINED NUMBER OF 